Taking a serious note of the rising stray dog menace in the district, authorities have decided to open more animal birth control (ABC) centres in Kottayam.
Acting on a suggestion by the District Planning Committee, District panchayat president K. V. Bindu and District Collector V. Vigneswari jointly convened a meeting of all block panchayats and issued directions to identify suitable locations for opening the centres and submit project reports . The block panchayats may establish any one of the three types of ABC units -- mega ABC unit, mini ABC unit or post-operative cages.
The establishment of Mini ABC centres will require 30 cents of land, where five to eight dogs can be sterilized a day. The mega ABC centre, which can sterilize 40 dogs a day, will require at least one acre and will cost around ₹1.2 crore. The post-operative cages, to take care of dogs after neutering, can be both vehicle-mounted and non-vehicle-mounted . The vehicle mounted cage can be established at ₹35 lakh while the other will cost ₹18 lakh.
The lone ABC unit that currently operates in Kottayam is run by the District Panchayat
